June 21, 2010
Beginning in November 2010, Canadians will be able to reset or change their personal identification number (PIN) at no charge on select chip-enabled credit cards at most post offices across the country.
"At Canada Post, we have experience in protecting consumer information through our mail service and online with epostTM. Adding PIN services to our retail network provides chip cardholders with a secure convenient location to personalize their PIN number ensuring uninterrupted card use," said Mary Traversy, Senior Vice President of Transaction Mail at Canada Post.
Increasingly card issuers are embedding chip technology into debit and credit cards in an effort to provide greater protection of cardholder information. The primary security feature of these chips is a PIN number that is personal to each cardholder that is stored on the card itself. This makes it more difficult to create and use fraudulent copies of debit and credit cards. To complete the PIN change, the chip card must be inserted into a device that will overwrite the existing PIN on the card itself.
Finding a location where PIN numbers can be changed and personalized can be a challenge for credit card holders as not all financial institutions have a physical location that is convenient or accessible to their cardholders. Through the Canada Post retail network, financial institutions can enable their customers to manage their PIN information easily and free of charge, thereby limiting transaction abandonment and reducing calls to customer call centres.
"With more than 6,500 post offices nationwide, Canada Post operates the largest retail network in the country. Financial institutions can benefit from this market reach and ensure their customers use and protect their credit cards," added Traversy.
With 71,000 employees and more than 6,500 post offices, The Canada Post Group – including affiliates Purolator Courier and SCI Group, as well as Innovapost (a joint venture with CGI), maintains the largest retail and transportation network in the country. Canada Post delivered close to 11 billion pieces in 2009 to 15 million addresses across Canada, posting $7.3 billion in revenue. Canada Post provides innovative physical and electronic delivery solutions, creating value for our customers, employees and Canadians. Canada Post has been chosen as one of Canada's Top 100 employers by Mediacorp for the past four years and in 2009 was named "Most Iconic Brand in Canada" by Brand Finance Canada. Website: canadapost.ca.
